REGINA — Saskatchewan truckers with over-dimension loads are getting some government help to make their hauls a little easier.

The provincial government is investing $1.6 million to develop high clearance trucking corridors to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness for transporting over-dimension loads. These new corridors will allow over-sized loads to be trucked without the need to raise or temporarily cut utility lines and other structures.

The corridors will run from Saskatoon to the Alberta border on Highway 7 and Melville to Rosetown via Highways 15 and 4.

"Providing reliable, low cost and efficient routes to export markets is a primary focus of our government’s management of the transportation system," Highways and Infrastructure Minister Jim Reiter said. "We are listening to the people who create jobs and investment in Saskatchewan and responding to their needs."

In addition to providing high clearance corridors, the province will also simplify the process for transporting over-dimension loads. Previously, shippers had to work with regulatory authorities to plan a route and arrange for utilities to be raised or cut with each move. Shippers will now pay a permit fee to use the corridor, however the province says, compared to the cost of raising utilities for each move, this permit fee will dramatically reduce costs.

The $1.6 million will be used to permanently raise or bury overhead utilities and will be recouped by charging permit fees to users. Once the initial investment has been recovered, permit fees will be used to cover maintenance and upgrading of the corridors and development of additional corridors to provide a high clearance network across Saskatchewan.